When Did The Oil Boom Hit North Dakota?

North Dakota’s modern day oil boom came as a result of a company economically producing oil from the Bakken Formation in Western North Dakota. The change in technology was the code that cracked the Bakken Formation. Horizontal drilling, along with “multi-stage” hydraulic fracturing is the main reason for the boom and the substantial increase in oil production in North Dakota and Eastern Montana.

Horizontal drilling allows a wellbore to be in contact with the oil bearing rock for up to two miles. In that wellbore, perforations are made which allows pressurized water and sand to break up the shale which allows the oil to freely flow towards the wellbore, thereby producing economically viable oil. .